Police find stolen property at home of man arrested on charge of protective order violation

CEDAR CITY — A man was arrested Thursday on multiple charges by the Iron County Sheriff’s Office after authorities were alerted to a protective order violation.

Anthony Raymond Barquin was booked into the Iron County Jail March 26, 2020, Cedar City | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St George News / Cedar City News

Anthony Raymond Barquin was arrested on 15 charges after a woman who had been living with him grew fearful of him, left his residence on approximately March 16 and then contacted law enforcement after attempting to get her belongings.

The woman who had been living with Barquin reportedly told law enforcement when she told Barquin she would return to collect her things, he informed her all of her belongings were gone after being left on the porch.

Investigators later discovered an abandoned vehicle near a gravel pit south of Kanarraville on March 22 that had been shot several times with a shotgun and potentially another kind of firearm. Personal items and documents, including a wallet and purse, were identified as belonging to the woman who had been living with Barquin.

Investigators followed up with the woman on March 25 after learning of a previous protective order that prohibited Barquin from owning firearms, and after speaking with the woman, they learned Barquin had at least two firearms in his possession during the time she was living with him.

After a criminal history search, investigators also learned Barquin was a Category I restricted person and discovered his vehicle had revoked registration and no insurance. During a traffic stop for those offenses, marijuana was found on Barquin’s person and three firearms were found in the car.

Iron County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Del Schlosser told Cedar City News the interview with Barquin regarding the protective order violation led to the discovery of stolen items that Barquin allegedly had in his possession.

“What started as something simple, turned into something major,” Schlosser said. “We got word that he was violating the protective order. Essentially it went from a protective order violation to an interview with him on that protective order violation. In that interview, he makes reference to some things at his house, which our investigators (knew) that was stolen from another residence, which led to a search warrant.”

While being interviewed, Barquin said he had another firearm, a .270 rifle, at his residence. In the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, the officer wrote that Barquin “was concerned we would take all his coins and jewelry.”

Deputies had recently investigated a burglary in Kanarraville where a .270 rifle, coins and jewelry were stolen, which prompted obtaining a search warrant for Barquin’s residence.

Investigators discovered the stolen property, which was valued at more than $1,500, at Barquin’s residence.

Schlosser said the stolen items were returned to the victims of the burglary.

“The deputies looked beyond what was at face value in this case, which is great police work,” Schlosser said. “We were able to get property returned to victims. One of those victims expressed their gratitude for returning some of those items because they’re family mementos, which meant the most to the family that we were able to retrieve those.”

Barquin was arrested and booked into the Iron County Jail on multiple charges, including five counts of second-degree felony possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, two class C misdemeanor charges for operating a vehicle without insurance and with revoked registration, two class B misdemeanor charges for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of class A misdemeanor violation of a protective order, one count of second-degree felony theft of a firearm, one count of third-degree felony theft, one count of class B misdemeanor theft, one count of class B misdemeanor criminal mischief and one count of third-degree felony criminal mischief.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and then attended Southern Utah University in Cedar City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature and an associate degree in equine studies. Kelsey served as a copy editor for the SUU Journal for one year and as the senior reporter for the Iron County Today before joining Cedar City News. She enjoys helping out with her family’s ranch in Hatch, petting every dog within reach and all things zebra-striped. When she’s not writing articles, Kelsey can be found spending time with her family or curled up with a good book and her Norwich terrier mix, Scout.